Bullets punish Wanderers As Blue Eagles beat Epac

• Bullets   2
• Wanderers      1

TNM Super League defending champions Big Bullets seized Blantyre football bragging rights when shooting five points clear after teaching toothless rivals Be Forward Wanderers a lesson in finishing with a 2-1 beating yesterday.

As Bullets family lept in joy, long faces and grumbling emerged as Wanderers paid their price of their impotence in front of goal on this sunny day at Kamuzu Stadium.

After this back-to-back defeat, Wanderers title’s aspirations were brought under the microscope as they lie second on 21 points from 11 games. Bullets sit proudly top on 26 points from 12 matches.

Wanderers strikers Precious Msosa and Jabulani Linje who eventually netted the consolation on the 59th minute, connived to fluff countless opening half chances.

Nomads were to rue those chances as Chiukepo Msowoya glanced in the Bullets opener 12 minutes after restart, before Jaffalie Chande put the game to bed with a 70th minute low volley. Not that it was an exciting game befitting the massive crowd, but Bullets just got the job done.

Wanderers were yesterday without leading scorer Muhamad Sulumba who made the most of his yellow cards’ suspension by travelling to South Africa for trials at Jomo Cosmos.

The quitting of Cameroonian striker Lionel Atsu and departure of seasoned forward Jimmy Zakazaka to Botswana for trials at a certain club also weakened Nomads’ striking force against Bullets who remain unbeaten alongside fourth-placed Blue Eagles who beat Epac 2-1 in Lilongwe. The cops have 20 points from 10 games.

At Kamuzu Stadium, Msowoya should have pushed Bullets ahead when he won a heading duel against Wanderers goalkeeper Peter Munthali, but the Nomads cleared their lines and survived the onslaught.

Wanderers responded with a flurry of attacks, but Msosa, stepping in the shoes of Sulumba, shot straight at the near post for Owen Chaima to keep the ball out for a corner-kick, which Wanderers failed to utilise.

Minutes later, Linje dragged his low effort wide after Wanderers had breached Bullets defence with a counter-attack which left-back Stanley Sanudi started on the left-wing.

The tide of the game changed in the second-half when Bullets substituted Henry Kabichi and Eneya Banda for Jelesi Lufeyo to control the midfield and Mussa Manyenje to stretch Wanderers’ three-man defence.

Suddenly, Bullets opened the scoring when captain Fischer Kondowe was granted space on the right to run and perfectly cross the ball to Msowoya who picked his spot with a spinning header. Wanderers responded but their penalty appeals were ignored after Sparrow Msowoya fell under the challenge of Dalitso Sailesi.

Parity was briefly restored as Linje rose the highest at the back post to glance in the leveler for Wanderers from Isaac Kaliyati right-corner kick from a crowded Bullets penalty box in the process Chaima got injured and was replaced by Vincent Gona.

Then the action swung to the other end as Kondowe’s throw-in from the right caused mayhem and panic in Wanderers’ penalty box before a ball was flicked onto the path of Chande who turned and swept the ball into the net.

Bullets fans erupted whereas Wanderers side descended into quietness with their cause not helped by Rafik Mussa’s missed header and Kaliyati’s long range effort that went wide. The game ended with Bullets also pressing for an insurance goal, but Chande skied his effort with substitute Victor Mpinganjira, who came in for Linje, having his effort ruled offside.

That marked the end of the game as Wanderers team manager Steve Madeira rued the terrible wastage.

“We did not expect to lose to Bullets, but that is football. You get punished if you do not use your chances. It is so painful as we were on top of them,” said Madeira.

Bullets deputy coach Llyod Nkhwazi said his charges would have stepped up the gear in their pursuit for the title retention, adding “I am happy because we have collected three points.”

Other results: Mafco 2 Mzuni 0; Blue Eagles 2 Epac 1.